Defense Secretary Hegseth’s introductory letter to the National Defense Strategy (NDS) dismisses all past administrations, Republican and Democratic alike, for pursuing what he calls, but does not define, “cloud castle thinking” by supporting the “rules-based international order.” This is a shallow, ideologically driven misreading. The rules-based international order is not a fantasy; it is a […]
John Sipher sits down with The Atlantic’s Shane Harris for a wide-ranging conversation on intelligence reporting, the unraveling of trust in American institutions, threats to press freedom, and what U.S. allies now fear most about Washington. Harris also reflects on one of the most extraordinary source relationships of his career and what it reveals about […]
“The Atlantic’s” Shane Harris on Politicized Intelligence, Press Freedom, and America’s Allies! Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 390 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep […]
Much of my life was spent overseas in the developing world across multiple continents. No surprise, a considerable number of those countries were corrupt. I may not have seen it all, but I have experienced quite a bit, especially as corruption relates to the government—nepotism, theft, coercion, extortion, graft, political violence, and bogus claims of […]
The Atlantic’s Shane Harris sits down with Sentinel Host John Sipher! Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 390 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise […]
Epic Fury: Our Latest But-Not-Only “Pearl Harbor” Moment: Will We Never Learn? At 3:38 p.m. Eastern Time on February 27, 2026, Donald Trump gave the ‘final go order to launch Operation Epic Fury, a combined US-Israeli air campaign against Iran. The operation began at 9:45 a.m., February 28, Tehran time, as many people were having […]
A strange thing happened a few weeks ago in US-French relations. The French Foreign Minister summoned the US Ambassador for a meeting. This kind of summons happens when there is serious tension between two countries, or when the Ambassador has said or done something controversial. While not common, a summons is a normal part of […]
On Monday, the Trump administration walked away from its attempts to punish disfavored law firms when it moved to voluntarily dismiss its appeal of earlier court decisions. The attempted punishment included, in part, the suspension of “any active security clearances held by individuals at (the firms), pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent […]
Unlike George Washington, Donald J. Trump lies. All the time. That’s supposed to be something we do not do; lying is bad. American mythology even has a story about our first president, George Washington, who, after cutting down a cherry tree, admitted that he’d done it, saying that he “couldn’t lie.” Today, plenty of people […]